Referring to a morphed photo on social media (left), Rajnath Singh (top) said a photo from a movie (right) was used to make him a victim of cybercrime

When your top boss comes calling, it’s better to fall in line. Gujarat cops, and hundreds of other participants at 24th All India Forensic Science Conference in the city, got to see the humourous side of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday. Singh, who was the Chief Guest at the event, referred to a morphed movie picture which supposedly showed a top Gujarat cop bowing before him.

The morphed picture went viral on social media in October 2017 and raised political heat before the reality came to light (see photo). Singh, who inaugurated the threeday event organised by Gujarat University and Raksha Shakti University, said it had been months since the “cyber shararati (prankster)’ posted the photo but the cyber cops were yet to nab him for “defaming” Gujarat police. To this, all the Gujarat cops could do was smile nervously while hundreds of cyber experts from India, US and UK burst into laughter. Referring to increased instances of cybercrime, he turned towards the cyber experts from Gujarat and asked them: “I too became a victim of cybercrime.

Experts from Gujarat, did you trace this person? I don’t know if that’s the case. If not, you need to catch hold of him and even give him good publicity.” Later, when asked to comment on Singh’s reference to the morphed photo, DGP (In Charge) Pramod Kumar said they had not received any such complaint or report and he wasn’t aware about it. On a serious note, Singh said morphed photos were being used to anger youths in Kashmir and cyber forensic experts should work towards stopping such activity.

Referring to popular national and international criminal investigation serials, Singh said: “I know crime serials depict experts solving crimes in no time and it’s not possible in real life but I am confident our experts are capable of expediting investigations.” Talking about Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) developed by the central government, Singh referred to popular Bollywood movie Don and said: “In the movie, the hero says it is was impossible to catch him. But with the system we are developing, even Don won’t be able to escape punishment. When the CCTNS infrastructure is ready, it will change the security scenario of the country.”

There’s need to train every cop in basics of forensic science so that no criminal goes unpunished, he stressed. Singh said instances of forensic knowledge were also seen in ancient India. “Around 2,250 years ago, Chanakya, in his book ‘Arthshastra’, talked about scientific investigation to detect the cause of death. In South India, there were instances of identifying criminals using finger prints in those times.”

“In ancient times, they used to put a ball of rice in the mouth of an accused and take it out after some time to ascertain whether he was the culprit or not, based on the quantity of saliva sticking to it. It was believed that a person lying secreted less saliva due to fear,” he said. Rajnath Singh also launched the Gujarat University’s Centre for Spoken Sanskrit which will offer a six-month course to people on how to speak the language.

Why was GU V-C all smiles?

Gujarat University (GU) Vice Chancellor Himanshu Pandya could be seen sporting a big smile at the end of the inaugural ceremony of the conference. It so happened that seating next to Singh, he suggested to the Union minister that forensic studies across India should be brought under an umbrella body just like chartered accountancy was regulated by ICAI and medical profession by Indian Medical Council. Singh liked the idea and announced from the stage giving credit to Pandya for the same. “There cannot be a better platform to announce formation of forensics council. You brainstorm and let me know how to go about it,” he said.

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